DEA assigned agents who left student for dead in cell to investigate themselves

An internal Department of Justice watchdog has criticized the US Drug Enforcement Administration for allowing agents that left a college student in a holding cell for an excruciating five days without food or water to then investigate the incident.

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released on Tuesday a
summary of its investigation into the arrest
of University of California-San Diego student Daniel Chong, who
resorted to drinking his urine and, believing he would not
survive, attempted to scrawl a farewell message in blood on his
cell wall. According to Chong's lawyers, he reached a $4.1
million settlement with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
last year.

The OIG said it was a conflict of interest for the supervisor of
the DEA’s San Diego Field Division to call on the same case
agents responsible for Chong’s prolonged detention to head the
investigation into how and why Chong was abandoned without
sustenance or access to a toilet.

The report added that DEA officials at its San Diego headquarters
and in the field "improperly initiated a review of the incident"
before they notified the OIG, a violation of the Department of
Justice and DEA policy, which "could have caused harm to a
potential criminal prosecution."

Chong was 23 when he was arrested in April 2012 during a raid at
a friend’s home where the DEA said it confiscated ecstasy,
marijuana, hallucinogenic mushrooms, and weapons.

Officers quickly determined Chong was not part of a drug
trafficking circle and placed him in a windowless holding area,
saying he would be released soon. Yet he spent the next five days
handcuffed in the 5 by 10 ft. cell with no attention given to him
despite his best efforts.

“I didn’t just sit there quietly. I was kicking the door
yelling,” Chong said last year at a news conference where he
spoke about the near-death experience.

Deprived of food and water in the DEA cell, he started to accept
the idea that he would not survive. He bit into his glasses to
break them, and used a shard of glass to carve a farewell message
to his mom on his arm.

“Sorry Mom,” he tried to carve into his bleeding skin,
but he only managed to write the “S”.

In a last-ditch attempt to stay alive, he urinated on the metal
bench in his cell and then drank his own urine.

To try to capture the attention of the guards, he then stacked a
blanket and his clothing on the bench to try to reach an overhead
fire sprinkler. Chong desperately tried to set it off by hitting
it with his handcuffed hands. He failed.

He slid a shoelace under the door, hoping to garner the attention
of the guards. He succeeded, and “five or six people”
came to the cell and found him starved and lying in his own
feces. Chong had lost 15 pounds, and was immediately hospitalized
for five days to address dehydration, kidney failure, a
perforated esophagus, and cramps,

“I had to do what I had to do to survive,” Chong told
NBC7 about the incident.“It’s so inconceivable. You keep
doubting they would forget you.”

The summary of the OIG report identified four DEA employees who
saw or heard Chong during his dismal stretch in the holding cell.
Despite the dire conditions of his detention, “the employees
told us there was nothing unusual about their encounters with
Chong," the summary said.

Despite its damning findings, the investigation found that the
decision to decline prosecution in the case was reasonable in
light of all the facts and circumstances. It is not known if any
disciplinary action was taken against the unnamed officers and
DEA officials involved.

The OIG says it was only notified of the incident when tipped off
by an anonymous caller, then later by members of the public.

The full version of the OIG report has yet to be released. The
summary was offered "in the interest of enhancing
transparency in administrative matters, consistent with privacy
considerations,” the OIG said.

Chong’s lawyer during his settlement with the agency said the OIG
summary "highlights the unacceptable and appalling failings
of DEA, both systemic and individual."

"We are gratified by the thorough and impartial investigation
by the OIG [Office of the Inspector General] and pleased that
what happened to Daniel will serve as an impetus for critical
institutional changes," Julia Yoo told The Huffington Post. "I would urge
the OIG to release the entire investigation report for the sake
of transparency."

The DEA’s San Diego office said in a statement that it was still
troubled by Chong’s treatment and that the agency implemented new
procedures for monitoring its facilities.

"Immediately following the incident, DEA implemented a new
agency wide policy for processing arrestees and detainees. These
procedures closely mirror the OIG's recent recommendations, and
include routinely inspecting holding cells, assigning an agent or
task force officer to the holding area, and maintaining an
occupancy ledger for holding cells. The DEA is confident that
these measures will help to prevent similar incidents in the
future."

The Chong case "remains an ongoing internal disciplinary
matter and we cannot comment any further,” the DEA said.